World
Haiti rescue charter flight carrying Americans lands in Miami as gang violence escalates
As Haiti spirals into chaos after weeks of gang violence, the first rescue charter flight took off from the Caribbean nation and landed in Miami Sunday afternoon, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News.
All 47 passengers on board are believed to be Americans and the flight was reserved only for those who had U.S. passports, the official said.
An armed member of the G9 and Family gang rolls a tire to burn at a roadblock in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
The flight took off from the city of Cap-Haïtien, about a five-and-a-half-hour drive north from the capital of Port-au-Prince, which is largely under the control of gangs.
The U.S. State Department announced the charter flight on X Saturday, providing a link for an application for those who wanted to get on it. It warned that U.S. citizens should consider the flight only if they could reach the Cap-Haïtien airport safely.
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This comes days after the State Department said there were no immediate plans to evacuate American citizens, citing the many warnings not to travel to Haiti over the last four years.
Meanwhile, the non-profit Project Dynamo is working on rescuing at least 40 Americans by air or sea. It’s not clear if any of those people were on board Sunday’s charter flight.
Members of the General Security Unit of the National Palace, USGPN, set up a security perimeter around one of the three downtown stations after police fought off an attack by gangs the day before, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, March 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
The State Department says it is aware of at least several hundred more American citizens who are still stuck in Haiti.
Sunday’s flight comes after the U.S. flew in military forces to beef up security and evacuate non-essential personnel at the American embassy.
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The United States flew in military forces last week to beef up security at the American Embassy and seemingly quash speculation that senior U.S. government officials might be leaving.
Pedestrians and commuters fill a street in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Gangs have raged through Haiti in recent weeks, attacking key institutions and shutting down the main international airport. The chaos has pushed many Haitians to the brink of famine and left many more in increasingly desperate conditions.
The violence has left Haiti’s government in a state of turmoil and prompted Prime Minister Ariel Henry to pledge that he would resign once a key transitional council was in place.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Private flights account for 30% of departures from Oman airport as wealthy evacuate Middle East
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Long border crossings, SUV convoys and six-figure jet charters have become the new escape route out of the Middle East as Operation Epic Fury intensifies, with private flights now accounting for nearly a third of all departures from Oman’s main airport.
FlightRadar24, a real-time flight tracking platform, reported that while Oman continues to be a “vital” hub for evacuation and repatriation flights, private flights accounted for 31% of operations Wednesday at Muscat International Airport.
As of Thursday afternoon, the platform reported more than 30% of all movements at the airport were private flights.
Semafor reported earlier this week that airports in Oman and Saudi Arabia were drawing ultra-wealthy travelers looking to leave the countries.
Oman continues to be a “vital” hub for evacuation flights at its Muscat International Airport. (Christopher Pike/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
People familiar with the matter told the outlet that private security companies have been booking fleets of SUVs to take people on the 10-hour drive from Dubai to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where private flights are available.
The clientele evacuating the region are a mix of senior executives at global finance firms and wealthy travelers in the region for business or vacation, according to Semafor.
LIV golfer Jon Rahm, a two-time major winner, was just one of the wealthy who arranged flights amid the turmoil.
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Rahm arranged a charter flight through his partnership with VistaJet, a private aviation company, to fly the seven stranded LIV golfers and a caddie from Oman to Hong Kong after their flights were canceled.
After a more than four-hour drive to Oman, the crew flew to Hong Kong.
A spokesperson for Air Charter Service, a company that acts as a global broker for private jets and freight transport, told FOX Business the company has arranged more than 10 evacuation flights, with more scheduled, mainly out of Oman with passengers looking to flee Dubai.
AMERICAN STUCK IN MIDDLE EAST ESCAPES IN RACE TO REACH CRITICALLY ILL HUSBAND IN CALIFORNIA
FlightRadar24 shared flights flying in and out of Muscat airport. (@Flightradar24 via X)
“We evacuated some of our own staff who were just visiting the region, and we arranged transport via the Hatta crossing into Oman from the UAE to get them to Muscat from where they flew out of the region,” the spokesperson said. “The border crossing time at Hatta took around 3–4 hours, as of Sunday, but I suspect this has increased now, as more people look at this option.”
Light flight jet trips from Muscat, Oman, to Istanbul, Turkey, are reportedly going for more than $93,000, according to Forbes, which said the price was about double the usual rate.
The outlet added the same route on heavy jets can cost up to $140,000.
AMERICANS IN MORE THAN A DOZEN MIDDLE EAST NATIONS URGED TO FLEE
This map shows the targets of Iran’s retaliatory strikes. (Fox News)
The U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran Saturday, triggering retaliatory attacks targeting countries in the region that host U.S. interests.
Mora Namdar, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, advised U.S. citizens to leave Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
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The limited number of available aircraft has pushed up prices, as citizens and travelers attempt to flee.
Fox News Digital’s Ryan Morik and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
World
Fact check: Did French border guards mock influencers returning from Dubai amid Iran war?
Social media posts have showed French border guards stationed in airport arrivals with signs that appear to read, “to all the influencers and other people in tax havens such as Dubai, the tax authorities wish you a smooth return to France”. But is this real?
World
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